


Little Town Blues

by CocoMuffin1



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-21 12:55:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 15,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30022119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CocoMuffin1/pseuds/CocoMuffin1
Summary: They might be living in the same city, but this unlikely group of friends started from entirely different worlds. Some, have grown up in New York. Some, are chasing after seemingly unattainable dreams. Will they end up with a happily ever after? Or will the competition and unexpected romances throw them off of their games?A Sanders Sides fanfic written by me. All characters belong to Thomas Sanders and Co.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

This story contains mature topics. If you've read my oneshots you'll know, I don't shy away from profane language, sexual references, and reference/usage of alcohol/drugs. I am writing a story about adults, who therefore, will reference doing adult things. However, I will not be going into explicit detail, so for example, sex might be mentioned or implied, but not explicitly described. Okay? Okay. 

This story will also feature angst. Not a lot of angst, it's mostly fluffy, however no story is complete, in my opinion, without ups and downs. Some heavy topics will be addressed (again, not in much detail) such as emotionally manipulative relationships, homophobic parents, death, etc. 

I also ask that you please respect the ships that I have chosen for this story. As a multishipper, it was a very difficult choice, but I chose something I'd be comfortable committing to long term. The romance will be a very small part of the story, so hopefully you can stomach it if it isn't your favorite. 

If you have any specific triggers or ships that trigger you that you're worried about, please message me on here or Instagram so I can give you a heads up. 

Thank you so much for reading!!


	2. Chapter One~ New Beginnings

The moment Roman placed both feet on the ground, he was entranced. Smells of coffee and cigarettes danced through the air, sounds of car horns and bustling people surrounded him, and tall buildings littered with hundreds of advertisements stood in every direction. The sun shone down and reflected upon every displayed window, creating a kaleidoscope of blissfully blinding lights. Music played faintly from a small store as people were gathered out front, eating ice cream on the hot day. As the cab was slammed shut, he made his way to the side of the car, retrieving his luggage.  
It was there where he finally faced his twin, who had gotten out on the other side. 

"Roman?" the other twin questioned, looking at his brother worriedly. Roman was confused for a moment, unaware as to why his brother would address him like that- but he inevitably returned to his exciting task at hand. Unpacking and facing their new adventure in New York. "Roman?" Remus questioned again, this time louder. It was then that things started to feel strange. Why didn't he remember the cab ride there? And why would Remus be addressing him with such a worried look, unless he was concerned? "Roman," the other called again, sounding slightly more annoyed than the first two times. Roman quickly looked towards him, trying to answer; but it felt as if he couldn't. Words couldn't find their way to him, and he looked towards his sibling, completely stuck. Things didn't feel as happy, nor as comfortable as they had moments before. They seemed confused and urgent- as if he had somewhere else he needed to be. "Roman!" Remus beckoned, grabbing his twin's arm and jerking it angrily towards him. "BITCH!" 

Roman sprung awake as a shout woke him. Remus stood a few feet from his bed, sporting messy bed hair and an extremely irritated look on his face. 

"What? My God..." Roman mumbled sleepily, rubbing his eyes. His brother gestured angrily to Roman's alarm that was going off, whilst pinching the bridge of his nose. "Oh... well good then, it did it's job." 

"No," Remus replied, placing a pill in his mouth and taking a swig of water. "It's job was to wake you up. It woke me instead," he grumbled, sitting down on his bed across from Roman's. "I'm way too hungover for this right now, and it's too early." Roman couldn't help but chuckle at his twin, rising from the warmth of his bed and into the cruel, unforgiving cold of the day. 

"Why would you go out drinking last night, of all nights? You knew we had a big day ahead of us." Remus groaned, plopping down onto his bed dramatically. 

"It was a last goodbye, I was so sad to be leaving our friends," he whined, shielding his eyes from the dim curtain light with his arm. The other brother, in a quickly decided opportunity for revenge, threw open the curtains, allowing the gray morning sky to seep into the room. He rolled his eyes at the pained grunt from his brother, before heading towards the bathroom. 

"Be ready by 8 or I'm leaving without you!" 

"Wow, you would really abandon your brother? Rude!" 

"Shut up." 

• • • 

The airport visit was as expected; boring, dull, and exhausting. And to no one's surprise, the airplane ride was the same. Both of the Jimenez twins were headed towards a new start, whether they were ready or not. All that stood between them was this stupid flight. When they finally got off of the plane and into the new port, Roman dragged Remus as fast as he could through all of the twisting gates and food courts, right towards bag check. The light was at the end of the tunnel and he could practically smell the new life awaiting them. It smelled like coffee, and hopes, and- 

"Pizza, really?" Roman crossed his arms as his brother finally returned from a food court escapade. 

"Yeah! Everyone says you have to try New York pizza," Remus said cheerfully, his mouth full of food. 

"Not airport pizza!" Roman complained, throwing his hands up in annoyance. "We put off getting our bags so you could get pizza. I can't believe I'm related to you." 

"You're so serious sometimes, brother. I worry about you," Remus laughed, patting the top of Roman's head, and carrying on with his luggage towards the exit. 

"Asking you to move in with me was a mistake, I can already sense it." 

• • •

Finally, they stepped out of the cab. Everything was perfect, just as it was in his dream. Excepted for the fact that it was trash day in the middle of summer, so it definitely did not smell like coffee and cigarettes. And, they weren't next to an ice-cream store, they were staring at a more dated looking apartment complex, right next to a dirty, trash filled alley. And, the buildings around them were also more run down, since they were in the less expensive side of New York. It was absolutely nothing like his dream. But the hope was still there! 

The twins brought their luggage inside the building, which was much more kept than it had been on the outside. There was a soft atmosphere, warm lights glowing, framed pictures, and an occasional plant. The room was small, but all that as needed was there; minimal decoration, a welcome desk, a table and chairs. Neither of the twins were used to the simplistic and almost rustic vibe, but regardless, the place seemed quaint. Roman made his way to the welcome desk, patiently waiting for the worker sitting in the chair to get off of the phone. Meanwhile, Remus made his way to the nearest corner to lounge against the wall while his brother did all of the work. 

When the worker finally hung up the phone, she glanced at the two brothers, squinting her eyes. 

"Let me guess... Roman?" She asked, pointing to Roman. He nodded in surprise that she had remembered, which prompted her to smile a little. "So that one's Remus. The twins!" she cheered with fake enthusiasm. "Identical twins..." she mumbled, eyeing the two. 

"Yeah, and you're..?" 

"None of your business," the worked smirked, turning towards her computer. "And horrible at customer service, trust me, Yelp knows," she winked. Roman turned back to look at Remus in surprise, but his twin was no help, as he was very amused by the interaction. 

"Uh... okay. So, the person I spoke to on the phone said we have to-" 

"Relax, I have it covered. Getting you into the database now, here's your two keys as requested. You've already viewed the room and signed the contract, and talked to the landlord, so there's nothing you need to do expect get your asses up there." She paused, noticing Remus snickering. A sarcastic smirk appeared on her face yet again, as she held the keys out in front of her. "Preferably sooner rather than later." 

Roman took the keys from the woman at the desk in awe. Remus started cackling out loud which prompted a punch in the arm from an embarrassed Roman. As the pair started their way up the stairs the worker called out to them. "Land lord visits in a few days, he'll wanna check in." Remus turned around and gave a quick thumbs up, while his twin climbed the stairs as fast as he could.

• • •

Roman and Remus arrived in their apartment, expecting the absolute worst. They had seen pictures online, but given all first impressions they'd had so far, it could honestly go either way. However, to their surprise, the place looked just as it had been advertised. A decent living room space, a large enough bathroom for the two to share, only one bedroom, but they were used to sharing. Their moving truck had been delayed, and it was supposed to drive most of their furniture and larger belongings, so the place looked barren and empty. But, at least is showed potential. Remus immediately threw his bags down and rummaged through them, pulling out a flask. Roman chose to ignore his brother and placed his bags down against the opposite wall to Remus', and began to un-pack. 

The two soon had their blow-up mattresses and basic necessities set up. Remus wanted to hang back and relax for the day, but Roman wanted to immediately go out to explore the city. Since Roman had done all of the work with the plane tickets, moving trucks, apartment building, and all that, the least Remus could do was entertain his hopeless brother. And so, Roman dragged Remus all over town. They got official New York coffee, though Seattle's was better. Then they wandered the streets, seeing all the fancy buildings and interesting people. And of course, they wound up at Times Square. 

"Oh my god, I can't believe we moved here! This is so exciting! Can you believe that this is where we live now?" Roman rambled, gazing at all of the hundreds of advertisements shining down on all of the pedestrians in Times Square. 

"No, I cant," Remus muttered sarcastically, much more interested in the male model on the underwear advertisement, than any of the other fancy bells and whistles. 

"Remus, I know it hasn't been a great day, but we're gonna do great things, I just know we are!" Remus nodded nonchalantly, turning just in time to see Roman and another man bump into one another, and coffee spill all over Roman's shirt. 

"Oh my gosh, I am so, so sorry!" The stranger said, frantically trying to get the napkins out of his pocket. "I wasn't looking where I was going and I was in a huge rush and-" 

"It's fine," Roman replied, though Remus could tell he was annoyed. Finally, now that the stranger had stopped freaking out so much, the twins could see him more clearly. His round glasses rested on a freckled button nose, his blue eyes were wide with worry. 

"But your shirt! Gosh, I'm so clumsy..." the man muttered, looking away shyly. Roman wasn't sure what it was about this stranger, but he knew in a matter of seconds that he couldn't be mad at him. 

"No, no its fine, it'll wash out... hopefully..." the stranger mustered a bit of a smile at that. 

"Okay well... I'm glad then." A phone alert pulled him from his thoughts. "Oh shoot! I really have to go. Uh- bye! Sorry again, about your shirt!" He called, quickly turning to leave. Both of the twins stared in awe at what had just happened, Remus with a highly amused look on his face, Roman with one much less. 

• • •

"Okay, so our receptionist lady is a bitch, our apartment building is old and run down, New York smells utterly intolerable every trash day, our furniture arrival has been delayed, and some guy I ran into spilled coffee on this nice white shirt. So far, New York sucks." Roman paced, ranting to a lounging Remus who held a flask in his hand. 

"Oh don't be dramatic, it's our first day," Remus said with an eyeroll, knowing his brother simply needed to calm down. 

"Exactly! And we've already been set up for failure." 

"Here," Remus patted the spot next to him, inviting his brother to come over. Reluctantly, Roman walked over, sitting on the wilted blow up mattress. Remus wordlessly slung an arm around his brothers shoulders, handing him the flask. 

"Is booze the answer to all of your problems?" Roman retorted, reluctantly taking the flask into his own hands. 

"Yep, been a pretty good one so far. Now, listen. It'll get better. And if it doesn't, we can just be quitters who gave up because it was too hard." Roman stiffened. 

"I am NOT a quitter!" 

"Exactly! So don't quit." 

Roman pouted, quickly drinking from the flask. His brother laughed and walked into the connected bathroom, leaving the door wide open. He cracked the window, and sat on top of the sink, lighting a cigarette. His brother stood from the mattress and walked over towards another window, gazing out at the city. 

"You know... for a place that's done nothing but harm me ever since I got here... it has a really nice view." Remus' eyes followed the smoke of his cigarette out the window and towards the city, where he too, could see a wonderful view. 

Sparkling lights painted the darkening city, as if they were stars, dotting the night sky. The sun had started sinking beneath several tall buildings, and as a result, orange hues mixed with the dark blues of night to create a beautiful sunset. All of the busy and energetic feeling had been replaced with something tranquil and beautiful. Not a single cloud disrupted the breathtaking blend between the city's end and the sky's beginning. Both of the twins sat in their respective windows, viewing the city that had given them so much turmoil, feeling deep down, that it was worth it.


	3. Chapter Two~ An Old Friend

Late that first night when his brother had finally gotten to sleep, Remus found himself restless about all of the change. Sure, he was probably the most spontaneous person to exist, but sudden change like moving half way across the country did sometimes get to him. He had scrolled through his phone for the better half of the night, looking at random memes, watching that good... quality PG content... all that jazz. That was, until another rabbit hole presented himself. 

Virgil. Shit! Virgil Storm, a kid who stayed in their town during summers, a kid Remus used to be friends with, lived here. So many thoughts began running through his mind. Why hadn't he thought to talk to him at all about this? Virgil lived here! And why hadn't he talked to Virgil in general in years? They were so close! And why was he searching up Virgil's contact and hitting the call button at 3 in the morning? 

"Hello?" A tired voice came from the other line. 

"Virgil!" Remus cheered, perking up. Quickly, he lowered his voice and demeanor, remembering his brother sleeping near him. Both sides of the call went quiet for a few moments; Remus honestly wasn't sure to say, and seemingly, neither was Virgil. 

"Dude, couldn't you have texted? Look, I know time zones are different for you but-" 

"No! I'm in New York." The other line went quiet again. 

"You... what? Uhg, I'm too tired for this." 

"Then why'd you pick up?" Remus asked with a smirk. He loved annoying Virgil, because no matter how hard he tried, the emo couldn't get rid of him. Virgil sighed loudly on the other line. 

"Anxiety. Had nothing better to do... why'd you call?" 

"ADHD and Intrusive thoughts," hummed Remus, repeating Virgil's unenthusiastic tone. 

"Fair." 

"So listen... I know it's been a while. But Roman and I moved to the city and-" 

"Wait... you moved here?? Also is Roman another one of your douche boy toys cause I told you I'm not bailing you out of jail again if you get caught with-" 

"Hah. Ro's my twin dumbass. A boy toy sounds much more fun, though," Remus sighed dramatically, leaning against the back wall. "Plus I left that hardcore shit behind. I mean... if the opportunity presents itself-" 

"Remus." Virgil growled. The silence was quickly broken when they both started laughing. 

"Sorry, sorry. But no, no boy toy here. Sadly." 

"Ah, don't be too sad. Your men were all awful people." 

"Oh, but so hot," 

"Definitely hot-" 

The two laughed yet again, and the awkward silence they had known only moments ago quickly faded. Remus and Virgil had gone way back, and the two could go months without ever hearing from each other, yet still take only five minutes to be completely caught up. 

"So... how come you didn't tell me about the move? Or about your brother," Virgil questioned, mumbling that last part as an add on. 

"Uh, I don't know. It slipped my mind I guess. Hey, can you show me all the cool places in town tomorrow? My brother is so boring." The subject seemed quick to change, but Virgil didn't pay too much mind. 

"Oh god, he's not straight is he?" Remus laughed. 

"Worse. A preppy theatre kid. But no, very gay. Hey~ I actually had a great idea just now," Remus smirked, immediately looking towards his brother. "Aww, I can see your guy's boring, vanilla wedding already," 

"NO. No no no, no. Last time you set me up, the guy got hammered and passed out on my couch. Besides, I don't go for preps. Especially your brother. That's gross dude." 

"Fine! Jeez, I was only kidding. Circle back to my previous question, hang tomorrow? Roman's... fine, but I need room to breathe. We can both be a lot." 

"You're telling me. Fine, but I work from nine to two." 

"Okay! Where to meet, emo?" 

"hmm, you can meet me at my work, it's just a coffee shop. I'll text you the address. I really should go to sleep though, I have to be up kinda early." 

"Okay! Bye bye Virge, don't let the demigorgon eat you~" 

"Yeah, fuck you too." 

Remus hung up with a smile. Finally, an ounce of normalcy, and an exciting day ahead with an old friend. 

• • •

Remus slept soundly on his blow up mattress, snoring quietly. The day before had been exhausting- long boring flight, stupid airport security, big day in a big city. Remus was honestly never fond of travel; his intrusive thoughts only increased at all the dangerous possibilities surrounding him constantly. All of the many, many urges to do something stupid, illegal, and dangerous resulted in a tired and annoyed Remus. That in of itself was enough for him to call it quits and retire into his room. Or at the very least, if he were to spend time in a big city such as New York, he'd want to check out the clubbing scene, or get laid, or at least stoned. But no, his stupid brother dragged him to all the vanilla places in town. Regardless, Roman had done a lot for Remus over the years... so maybe Remus owed it to him to play nice. At least for a day. All of this to say, Remus was exhausted. The late night he'd had didn't exactly help, so he rested as soundly as a baby. 

"REMUS WAKE UP!" 

"Fuck! What?" Remus replied, springing up. 

"You lazy ass, it's like noon," Roman grumbled, hands on his hips. 

"I was up late last night..." Remus groaned, pulling the blanket over his eyes. 

"Okay well, the rest of our stuff gets here in like, an hour. And I have some errands I need to run so- you good to just do whatever today?" 

"Yeah, yeah. You don't need to babysit me. We have parents for that, remember?" Roman glared at his brother, rubbing his temples. 

"Do we? Besides I'm just making sure... anyways, try not to get into trouble our first day here." 

"Mission accomplished, our first day was yesterday." Remus said smugly, earning a sigh from his twin. 

"Fine, anyways, I'll be back in a little while for the movers." Roman replied, digging through his closet. 

"Virgil lives in New York, so I'm gonna go out actually." 

"Virgil?" Roman questioned, as he practically burrowed himself in his many clothes. 

"Yeah... remember the kid that visited his tia every summer? I feel like I mentioned him to you..." Remus replied nonchalantly. "Anyways, when he's not in Seattle for the summer, he's here. And we're meeting." 

"Wait was he the one who bailed you out when you-" 

"Okay, everyone can stOP talking about that now? And yeah. He's the hot emo one," 

"Oh!" Roman snapped his fingers, pulling his head from his closet. "He's the one our parents hated." 

"Yeah..." Remus mumbled, finally standing from his bed. "Hence why you never knew much of him." 

"Well have fun," Roman's phone buzzed, pulling him from their conversation. "Oh shoot, I'm late. See you later," he said quickly, tugging his shoes on as he stumbled out of the door. 

• • •

Virgil sighed as the afternoon buzz of costumers died down. The café was perfectly placed near Times Square, and around noon, is always completely crowded. Virgil really, really hated crowds. Still, he was here, pouring coffee for strangers, in a tiny, crowded shop. Virgil had grown up in New York all his life, and though he hated crowds and loud noises, he hated change even more. The most his father could get him to do was go live with his aunt during the summer months, for a change of scenery. He had never thought to live anywhere else, or do anything else, because he honestly just wanted to get through his day, and have chill friends to unwind with. 

He met Remus on one of these summer trips to his aunt's house. They actually met in a thrift store, weirdly enough, and Remus offered to show Virgil around, since he looked utterly lost. The two hit it off and hung out, as Virgil had literally no friends, and neither did Remus. He was always a lot for Virgil, often he said things that stressed Virgil out- often he did things that stressed Virgil out. But at the end of the day, Remus was a good friend to him, and weirdly enough, he enjoyed his company. Memories flashed back from last night- Remus had a brother, a twin brother. How had Virgil not known? When he really thought about it, he barely knew anything of Remus' family life- he never even went to the kid's house. Why now is he here in New York and wanting to meet up? 

"Whatever," he sighed, pushing his thoughts away and focusing on his job. 

"Whatever what?" his coworker/boss asked, taking the emo by surprise. 

"P-Patton! Jeez, you scared me," he mumbled, awkwardly hugging his side. 

"Sorry kiddo! You seemed to be worried about something. Need to talk to someone?" 

"No," Virgil huffed, crossing his arms. "A break might be nice though." Patton giggled. 

"Okay, not too long though. I need your help to cover the online orders." 

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. I'll just be a minute." 

Virgil quickly walked out the back door, breathing in the fresh air. He hated his job, he hated this town, he hated most people. Sometimes it all became too much and he just needed a breath. Luckily, his boss and close friend Patton, was literally the sweetest person he knew. Even though he was such a parental figure towards basically everyone, he was also this adorable, innocent puffball, that Virgil never had the heart to say no to. Patton was probably a big reason why Virgil even still had this job- at least he always had a friend who could calm him down. But alas, the work day continues and the clock keeps ticking, so in he went, to continue his job. 

• • •

Remus entered the café around two, searching the room for his emo friend. Finally, the other flagged down his attention, and they shared brief pleasantries. They talked for a few minutes while Virgil continued cleaning down tables, before he got to sign off for the day. Patton was the only other person in the store, restocking some pastries in the display case. 

"Hey Virge, who's this?" Patton beamed, smiling towards Remus. 

"Hey! I know you," Remus said, looking towards Patton. "wait, you bumped into my brother yesterday! He spilled coffee all over his shirt!" Patton's face flushed and his excited expression dropped. 

"Oh my goodness, don't remind me! I feel horrible..." Virgil hid a chuckle as Remus extended a hand. 

"Oh don't be ridiculous, Roman needed the reality check." Patton smiled and shook the other's hand. "I'm Remus, a friend of Virgil's," 

"I'm Patton! Also a friend... and his boss," Virgil smiled slightly at the two getting along, but he quickly grabbed Remus' arm and started pulling him away. 

"Pat, he's new here so I'm gonna show him around, okay? We can talk later." 

"Bye kiddo! Oh and nice to meet you Remus!" Patton called, waving them both off. 

"Pft, kiddo?" Remus snickered, as Virgil dragged him out the door.


	4. Chapter Three~ Big City

Janus sighed as the sparsely scattered houses whizzed past him. The wide fields and tiny town quickly blurred together from his train window. The further he got from his town, the more beautiful his window view was. Rolling hills, large fields with grazing farm animals, foliage from the countless plants and trees. Soon, this wonderful environment he grew up to love, would be something to look forward to on occasion, something he'd hardly ever see. What waited for him instead? The place he'd always wanted to go- New York city. A place where sky scrapers stretched taller than any building he'd ever seen, shaped like perfect rectangles, littered with countless windows. A city where large, loud cars could be seen for miles against the straight edge streets. The final destination on his path, where his whole life would begin. 

Nothing about it would be familiar to him, having grown up in 'middle of nowhere' Marietta, Ohio. Marietta was the kind of place where everyone knew anyone, and all of the townsfolk behaved the same way. It was small, it was boring, it was severely lacking diversity, and quite frankly, it wasn't for Janus. He was a classy musical theatre major, destined for a more complex place, with more complex people. He wanted to go to fancy dinner parties with wine and live performers, not beer pubs during karaoke nights.

So off he went, as soon as he graduated college, onto the first train heading towards New York city. He couldn't quite say what he was expecting to achieve, but he knew it was all going to change for the better.

Suddenly, Janus' phone vibrated in his pocket, bringing his attention from the view outside of the train, to the inside. He pulled his phone outside of his pocket, glancing down at the illuminated screen.

'We're so proud of you! Call us when you get into your apartment... New York can be a dangerous place... we just want to make sure you're doing okay. The little ones say hi! Xoxo, Mom.'

Janus couldn't help but smile at the text, though he didn't have the energy, or the good internet connection to respond. His parents were often very overbearing and protective, but somehow in moving several states away, that became less annoying and more... endearing. He turned off his phone and pocketed it again, gazing out towards the horizon.

• • •

Janus stepped off of the train, luggage in hand, ready for this new chapter of his life. Even after only moments of being in New York, he could tell things were going to be very different, but very exciting. The smells and sounds in the air, the feeling of connectivity between the countless people surrounding him, everything about it was new. The first thing he did was flag down a cab driver, hand them the address of his apartment complex, and gaze out of the window. New York in the evening was so beautiful; lights in every direction, the dull noise of car horns and busy shops in the distance, the thousands of buildings and people all around.

Eventually, his cab arrived at the apartment complex, Janus stepped out, retrieved his suitcases, and walked inside.

The place had a very simple, yet elegant appeal. Given the fact that New York is a very expensive place to live, and the fact that Janus would be living by himself, it was the best he could do. Janus couldn't really be picky, he grew up on literal farm land. Any apartment complex in a big city, was a much needed improvement. Amongst the few low budget decorations, there was a desk near the back of the room, where an annoyed looking woman sat.

"Excuse me," Janus said politely, setting his suitcase down momentarily. The woman looked up from the book she was reading with a glare.

"Yes?" she replied with a sigh, begrudgingly setting the book down.

"I'm Janus... I'm moving into an apartment here today?" The woman sat up in her chair with a snicker.

"Your name is Janice? Wow, your parents must hate you, huh?" Janus was taken aback by her response, but quickly gained his composure, smirking slightly.

"Yes, they do," he replied, leaning onto the counter. "Though given where you're working, your parents must not like you much either, do they?" The woman stiffened, clearly not expecting that answer. She glared at Janus for a brief moment, before chuckling fondly.

"I like this one," she said fondly, turning towards her computer. Janus watched as she typed a few things into the data base, and pulled out a pair of keys. "You're all set. Here's your key, landlord comes in a few days, she'll want to check in." Janus took the keys and gave her a slight smile.

"Thanks," The woman hummed in response, quickly going back to her book. Janus chuckled, finding her mean demeanor highly entertaining. He grabbed all of his luggage and started up the stairs to his apartment.

• • •

Just as Janus turned the corner onto his floor, he heard the echoed clang of a door slamming, and turned in the direction of the noise, to see a man exiting his apartment. The man noticed Janus' attention on him, and his face warped from anger to embarrassment.

"Oh I'm so sorry for that," he muttered, raking a hand through his hair. Janus shook his head with a slight smile.

"No need to apologize," he replied, continuing to walk past the other man, to get to his apartment.

"Wait, are you new here?" Janus paused.

"Yes."

"Oh! I'm Roman," the other said, outstretching his hand for Janus to take. "My brother and I are new here too, got in a few days ago." Janus reluctantly shook the other's hand, then moved his attention to the door his new neighbor had just slammed.

"Janus. I'm assuming the brother is the reason for the door theatrics?" Roman's face flushed a little, and he quickly laughed off his clear embarrassment.

"Yeah... y'know, brothers. Anyways, I'll leave you to unpacking. Welcome to the neighborhood," he said, mustering as much cheer as he could recover from that interaction. Janus couldn't help the amused smile that started to form, as he nodded towards this new neighbor.

"Nice to meet you, Roman."

The two went their separate ways; Roman dashing down the stairs in a hurry, as Janus unlocked the door to his new home.


	5. Chapter Four~ The Little Things

Remus groaned at his brother, who had just exited their apartment. He knew Roman meant well deep down... but he could be annoying as hell. It had been a few days since they moved in, and Roman had already gotten under the other's skin. Remus found himself absent mindedly fumbling with the keys in his hand, as chatter in the hallway picked up. He knew it was his twin instantly from and loud and flamboyant tone, but he couldn't be bothered to listen in or care. 

You see, the twins didn't always have the best relationship. Sure, it's been much better as adults than it ever had when they were younger, but even if the two "got along", they would still butt-heads on the little things. Today it was posters. Remus didn't want Roman's stupid musical theatre posters in his room, and Roman wanted to hang them up. They were, after all, 'his only memories of Seattle', or so he liked to remind Remus any time the conversation came up. But how could Remus get hot biker dudes over for a one night stand if Roman's stupid posters were every where? So... the two bickered about it. Sometimes Remus wished they lived apart, but Roman was dead set on coming to New York and chasing his acting dreams, and Remus wasn't going to be all the way across the country from him. 

The twin still in the apartment flopped down onto his bed with a sigh, glancing over towards Roman's side of the room. Small fairy lights were strung across the window, a succulent sat on his narrow nightstand, his shelf had a neatly organized assortment of framed photos on top. Remus couldn't help but laugh, gaze shifting towards one of the photos on the shelf. It was the two of them when they were sixteen years old. He remembered the day that photo had taken place better than he'd ever admit to anyone. In fact, he remembered it perfectly, because it was the first time he had been happy in a very long time. It was their birthday, the first without their parents. Roman wanted to stay in all day and be depressed, but Remus needed Roman to get his shit together. If his twin couldn't be strong, Remus was terrified, because Roman always got back up and faced the new day. He had to fix his brother and give him a good birthday, so he did. He took Roman down to the big market, where their mother used to take them. They got seafood, Remus shoplifted some alcohol, Roman scolded him but drank it anyways, they ended the night playing wasted Mario Kart back at home. That picture captured their entire day perfectly... Roman with his stupid bright smile, and Remus, flipping off the camera with a mischievous grin. 

Remus sighed, finally standing up. He wandered over towards Roman's desk, and pulled out a sticky note. Then, he grabbed one of his brother's many, many pens, and began scribbling on the small paper. 

• • •

"Damn it! Why are you so good?" Virgil complained, throwing his controller onto the bed. Remus smirked with his signature evil grin, leaning back slowly. 

"I hear that all the time... in bed," he snickered, dodging the pillow that had promptly been thrown at him. 

"I meant at the game, you dumbass." 

"V, you have no idea how many high nights I've spent playing Mario Kart. I mean seriously, if they handed out awards for 'most stoned gameplay'... I'd get a fucking gold medal." Virgil rolled his eyes at the other, and leant forward to put a new game in. 

"Fine, keep up with me in smash bros then," he replied smugly, whilst picking up his controller that had been abandoned in a fit of anger. 

"That sounds kinky," Remus replied, selecting his character. 

"To you, anything sounds kinky," Virgil mumbled in response, starting the round. "Get ready to have your ass kicked." 

"Jokes on you, I like getting my ass kicked~" 

"Oh my god, can you shut up?" 

"hmm... nope." 

The two continued playing games the rest of the evening, enjoying the peace and quiet. Although Remus was extremely social and extroverted, he also enjoyed some nice time in, away from all the chaos. He got really bad intrusive thoughts that only greatened in large crowds and in the presence of lots of people, so nights in were a good break. Virgil, on the other hand, was introverted as hell. He loved being inside with video games, an anime, or music blasting in his headphones. Sure, he liked having the comfort of friends to quiet the anxious voices in his head, but he also liked his alone time. Or, at least nights like these, time where the social interaction wasn't too overwhelming. 

The two played video games well into the evening, just like old times back in the summer. Even though Remus could be... a lot, for Virgil, he was still a close friend that Virgil genuinely enjoyed the company of. And ever since the dumbass had moved to New York, they only became better friends. The night flew by for the two of them, and Virgil just decided Remus should stay over, since walking the streets of New York at midnight was not a good idea. 

• • •

Patton sighed, slumping down onto one of the coffee shop chairs. The entire store had just been thoroughly cleaned, after finally closing up for the day. Virgil had a day off today, which of course, Patton wanted him to have, but it also meant that he had to close the store by himself. The small cafe was very understaffed, there were only about five people cycling shifts during the week. And as the owner, Patton had to be there every day. He finally got to sit down and relax for the first time all day- 

Patton was startled by a loud knock on the door. He practically leapt out of his chair, quickly gazing towards the glass door. A tall man in dark colors stood outside, peering in slightly. He wore a thin pair of glasses against his angular face, and a rather formal outfit. 

"Excuse me," he started leaning close to the glass so Patton could hear him. "I am aware you are closed, however I was wondering if you could make an exception?" Patton quickly wandered over to the door, not missing the thermostat on his way. The beginnings of fall were coming, and the evening temperatures had started to drop. 

'This poor guy! He must be freezing.' Patton thought to himself, whilst fumbling with the lock. "I'm technically not supposed to be doing this..." Patton mumbled, opening the door. The man stepped inside with a content sigh, nodding towards Patton. 

"Yes, I figured as much. I appreciate it, my boss let me out of work later than expected and..." he trailed off, glancing at the menu over the counter. "And I am very thankful for you letting me in. It seems as if you have already cleaned up for the night..." Patton smiled, quickly throwing on his apron the workers were required to wear. He got behind the counter and met this strange new costumer face-to-face. 

"No worries! The store might have rules... but my morals and the store's morals don't always have to be the same. I can't let you go cold and hungry!" The man in front of him chuckled slightly, pulling out his debit card. 

"Well... that is perhaps, a little dramatic. I am neither starving nor freezing," he paused, noticing Patton's bright smile that had yet to falter. "I do, however, need a recommendation for one of these baked treats. It is my mother's birthday tomorrow, and I will need something that appeases her constant need for sugar." Patton giggled at that, opening his side of the display case. 

"Sounds like your mother and I share the same issue," he laughed. "As for a recommendation, well... I'm always biased but all the baked goods on this section of the case are made here! The cupcakes and cookies are very good, and you're always welcome to sample." The man hummed in acknowledgment, leaning forward to examine all of the treats. Patton shuffled slightly, smile never falling. Truly, he loved his job. He loved getting to meet and notice different qualities in all of the costumers. He loved the random stories about people he's able to pick up from small talk, or accidentally overhearing their conversations, or even just from their coffee order. This man in front of him was a difficult one to read, however. Perhaps it was just because Patton was tired. 

"Yes, I'll get her a red velvet cupcake. Do you happen to have another batch of coffee on hand?" 

"Coffee, this late at night??" 

"Well, I do have quite a bit of work to do..." 

"Okay, I'll get started on one. Anything special in it? I can whip ya up anything on the menu if you'd like!" This stranger chuckled yet again, adjusting the glasses on his face. 

"Black is quite alright. I do believe you have a strange business practice," he observed, handing Patton his debit card. 

"What do you mean?" 

"Well, I suppose you're being quite... kind. In customer service that is essential, though letting a stranger in after closing hours and offering him anything on the menu, is likely not the protocol you learned in training." Patton laughed lightly, pouring the coffee into one of the disposable cups. He carefully covered the cupcake safely, so it would still be presentable by tomorrow. 

"You'd be right about that," He mumbled, handing the stranger his drink. "But oh well, I am the boss so... it's hard to fire me," he flashed a bright smile towards the other, holding the cupcake out in his other hand. "Have a nice night!" 

"As to you," the stranger nodded with a slight smile. And just like that, Patton was left alone again. Exhausted, but genuinely feeling a little more pleased with himself, that he had helped that stranger.


	6. Chapter Five~ Birthday

Roman arrived at home late at night, at nearly 1 in the morning. He quietly shuffled into the apartment, worried Remus might be asleep, but to his surprise, Remus wasn't even there. That was probably for the best, Roman wasn't in the mood for interaction with anyone. He had auditioned for several different shows, and he was so exhausted. Not to mention, in one of his auditions he just flat out tanked the song. And that director was the best one! She was so well known and associated with very good shows. He had gone to a bar with a few theatre people he met, just to get familiar with the people in the scene, but theatre kids were tiring. A long night full of really competitive karaoke, half assed dance numbers, and lots of drinking. With a heavy sigh, he flopped onto the bed, disregarding all of the things he had to do. The dull light from the kitchen illuminated his room enough for Roman to notice a small sticky note on his desk. 

"What..?" he mumbled, begrudgingly sitting up and peeling the note off of the desk. He glanced down at the note, immediately recognizing Remus' messy handwriting. 

'Put up your stupid posters,' was the only thing written on the note, which put a smile to Roman's face. He put the note back down on his desk, and pulled out his phone. 

"You at Virgil's?" he texted to his twin, leaning back against his bed. 

"Aw Ro, isn't it past your bed time?" came the response, which got an immediate eyeroll from Roman. 

"Ha ha. Just making you aren't like, dead or anything." 

"yeah, yeah. I'm at V's." 

"Ok, goodnight." 

"Gn." Roman sighed, plugging his phone in, and pulling the covers up over his head. Tomorrow would be a new day, he just had to make it that long. 

• • • 

Logan woke up with a groan, alarm blaring in his ear. Drowsily, he reached his arm over to his nightstand, and turned off the alarm that had now started to become a headache. The sunlight shone in from his windows with a vengeance, beckoning him to get his day started. The nerd hated mornings, especially after staying up as late as he had. However, being punctual each morning was essential for a healthy routine, and Logan did enjoy keeping up good habits. He slowly rose from his bed, placed his glasses on his face, and gazed around the room. He had allowed himself to momentarily forget that it was his mothers birthday, though upon seeing the coffee cup from last night, he quickly remembered. 

Logan's mother was perhaps the one person whom he trusted and cared for enough to remember their birthday. With the countless thoughts and deadlines running through his head, and not much attachments to celebrating the day you came into the world. Seriously, it's just a day. However, his mother was one person he could trust and care about, and someone he didn't have to work hard to understand. 

She was loving and supportive, and above all else, she was understanding. Of all the times Logan over worked himself, of all the times Logan couldn't understand his feelings, she was there, and she understood. 

Logan gazed over at his desk, noticing the countless things he had to get done. His long night of work was laid out in front of him as scattered pieces of paper and scribbled notes. He just wanted to wrap up this project he had been working on, but having a healthy sleep schedule seemed to be a reoccurring obstacle. He suddenly got a call, which pulled his attention from his work. He checked his phone to notice his father was calling him. Great. 

"Hello?" Logan responded, placing the phone to his ear and sitting down at his chair. 

"Logan. I need you to come by the office later today, Summer dropped their shifts. We need you to pick up the slack, since Marissa had her baby." The voice on the other line spoke. Logan groaned, pinching his temples. 

"Father, it's mother's birthday today, I was going to-" 

"Logan. Your work must always come first, you remember that. Your mother will be fine if you see her later tonight." Logan's jaw tightened. Every logical voice in his head said he should listen to his father, but something inside him was begging him to see his mother. 

"Father she's-"

"I know what she is. This is what we're doing to help her. Don't you want to help your mother?" Logan sighed. 

"Yes, I do. Of course I do." 

"So get to the office. I told summer to send you their files. I expect the work on my desk by noon, and if that happens, you can get off early." 

Despite the gut feeling that he should be with his mother on her birthday, he grabbed the rest of his things, and headed off to work. 

• • •

Logan sighed with relief, finally able to set the papers down on his father's desk. Luckily, said parent wasn't in the room, because Logan wasn't prepared for some random lecture or questioning. He had brought the cupcake with him, so quickly, the nerd took off to his mother's house. 

"Logan," his mother smiled as she opened the door. "Come in, I was just making some tea." Logan smiled slightly, holding off on handing her the cupcake just yet. 

"You're up today, have you been feeling any better?" 

The tired woman in front of him smiled as best she could, handing Logan a mug. 

"You're too young for worry lines, Logan. Your father and I gave you such a lovely face, no need to go prematurely ruining it," his mother replied, reaching out and cupping Logan's cheeks. Logan rolled his eyes, although a small smile crept onto his face. He quickly dogged all the face touches, knowing full well that led into hugs. 

"You're changing the subject," he mumbled, accepting the mug. 

"I am feeling better today, yes. Please quit worrying so much, I'll be alright." 

The two sat down at his mother's kitchen island, sipping from their tea mugs and casually talking. Logan always enjoyed time with his mother, he didn't feel he needed to be someone else or guarded around her. They swapped some light pleasantries, talked about work, talked about life, then Logan gave her his gift. 

"It's not much, I apologize for that. Father had me working late last night and... well, I figured if you were feeling up for it, a treat might be nice." 

"Oh I love it! Red velvet is my favorite! And I love this cafe, my friends used to delivery me the fresh baked cookies from there. Such a talented baker." Logan smiled and nodded, gazing down into his nearly empty cup. 

"That he is, very kind too. He let me in after hours so I could get you this gift. I hope it makes up for not being here all day." 

"Oh, Logan, it's perfect. You've always been my favorite child!" Logan stifled a laugh behind his hand, and nudged his mom with a smirk. 

"I'm your only child."


	7. Chapter Six~ Wouldn’t You Like to Know?

Virgil was completely exhausted, and not looking forward to work. Regardless, he continued on his path to the café, warm cup of coffee in hand. He had gotten the early shift today, and though he enjoyed getting to see Patton, he hated the early mornings. He trekked down the sidewalk, brain on autopilot, just focused on getting to work. However, a stranger rushing by accidentally bumped into him, causing him to nearly spill his coffee. 

"Hey watch it!" Virgil growled, holding his coffee close to his chest. The stranger's face twisted in distaste, and he angrily pointed a finger towards the other. 

"You watch it! I was just minding my business." With a huff and an eyeroll, Virgil quickly turned around, deciding that fighting a stranger wasn't worth his time. That was, until the stranger's face finally settled in to Virgil's drowsy mind. 

"Hey wait..." he whipped around, eyeing the stranger. "Oh my god. You look just like him, ew." The stranger crossed his arms in front of his chest, glaring intensely. "You're Remus' twin!" Virgil laughed. 

"Yes," the stranger grumbled, annoyed expression still apparently clear on his face. "And you are..?" 

"Wouldn't you like to know," Virgil snorted, turning around again. He could tell from the disgruntled sigh behind him that this did not bode well with Remus' twin. Virgil didn't care though, messing with the only family Remus ever talked about was worth it. Besides, this random dude had run into him and argued with him about it... he had it coming. 

• • •

Roman sighed as he entered the studio, script in hand. No matter how many times he did auditions and call backs, he always got a little nervous. The negative interaction he had just had with that stranger certainly didn't help put his mood in the right place. 

You see, Roman had gotten a callback for a really big role! But that meant the grueling hours of dancing and reading lines, just to prove to the directors that he was better than the other options. Still, he showed up, big enthusiastic grin on his face. This could finally be his big break, he just had to play his cards right. 

Suddenly, Roman's eyes fell on someone quietly reading in the back corner of the studio. 

"Hey! You're our new neighbor... Janus, right?" The man looked up from his book, surprised. He nodded, confusion evident on his face. 

"What are you doing here?" Janus questioned, as Roman set his beg down next to his neighbor's. 

"I'm here for the callback..?" Janus perked up in surprise, though Roman couldn't tell if it was a good or bad surprise. 

"Oh... me too, obviously. What role?" Roman smiled, pulling out the script. "Fierro, of course!" Janus chuckled slightly, closing his book fully, and putting it away in his bag. 

"I was called back for Fierro as well," Janus replied, eyes narrowing towards Roman, yet a faint smile was on his face. Roman stiffened, clearly taken aback, and not entirely sure how to feel. Would this make things weird? Would they have animosity? Oh god, he needed all of the positive acquaintances he could possibly get, please don’t say his new neighbor would already hate him. He shook off the nerves, extending a hand with a smile. 

"Well... I'm glad to have someone I know here! I was worried I'd be totally alone." Janus smiled slightly, with a nod. "And good luck, for Fierro. May the best Fierro win!" Janus took Roman's hand skeptically, but melted into the interaction. 

"As to you." 

• • •

The callback was as Roman predicted, exhausting. He and Janus had gotten along really well, surprisingly. They were both slightly awkward after realizing they were fighting for the same role, though Roman could respect Janus' talent, and hoped Janus could do the same. They worked hard, lots of dancing, line reading, chemistry tests. But this was part of the business, and Roman had entirely expected and prepared for it. What he wasn't prepared for, was what happened with the director. 

Throughout the entire audition, the director seemed to have his sights set on certain cast members. Roman noticed some straying eyes wandering towards some of the dancers... and even towards himself. But he chose to ignore it, thinking the director must be trying to make sure costuming would work out. 

But yet again, things started to turn weird at the very end of the callback. Everyone was on their way to leave, and the director asked to speak with Roman alone. Poor Roman nearly had a heart attack, worried he'd either majorly screwed up, or that he had gotten the role. But when he approached the director, yet again, he was struck with a very strange energy. 

"Roman... Jimenez, was it?" The director asked, gazing at his notes. 

"Yes," Roman quickly replied, tucking his hands behind his back. 

"Between you and I... this role is looking the best for you. The bullshit producers didn't give me enough time to see you in character, though." Roman swallowed, trying to hide the nerves evident on his face. "I might need to do a private rehearsal with you, to make sure you can handle it. You're up against a few veterans to theatre... and your experience is lacking. The producers will kill me if I don't cast this right." Roman nodded eagerly, smile slowly appearing on his face. 

"Sure! You want me to come back here like tomorrow or-" 

"My place, tonight." The director finally looked up from his notes with a twisted smile that Roman couldn't quite place. Something felt very wrong about the interaction, and Roman had heard the horror stories of creepy directors. Was this one of those instances? He really needed this part. “You know... it's a tough business.” The director started again, pulling Roman from his thoughts. “You should be able to handle it. If I see you tonight, you just might get a high recommendation from me." 

Roman deflated, as he watched the director walk away. He didn't need to say anything for Roman to know exactly what he was implying... which left an impossible situation on his hands. 

• • •

Roman entered their shared apartment, head reeling. The day had been far too long, and he honestly couldn't get that director out of his head. It was every actor's nightmare to be stuck with the creepy director- you either do what he says and sacrifice your integrity, or you don't do it and get cut from the show, and potentially black listed for future shows. He sighed, closing their apartment door, and looking towards his shared bedroom. Loud rock music was coming from the other side of the door, which did not soothe Roman's pounding headache. 

"Remus," Roman groaned, knocking on the door. "Are you decent?" 

"Nope. Never have been my whole life," Remus yelled back, which got a laugh from someone else in the room. 

"Seriously," Roman growled, turning the knob. He opened the door to find Remus and the stranger he had bumped into earlier, sitting on his twin's bed. "Oh. It's you," Roman mumbled, tossing his bag on his bed. Remus stifled a giggle, clearly having been caught up from the stranger’s perspective about what had happened earlier that day. The stranger had Remus' hand in his, and was painting black nail polish on the other's hand. "Virgil, I'm assuming?" 

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, your majesty," Virgil replied sarcastically, bowing his head in emphasis. Roman quickly grabbed his jacket from his closet, choosing to ignore the blaring My Chemical Romance in the background, and the bitchy company he found himself in. 

"I'm going out with a friend so try not to get arrested," Roman grumbled, quickly leaving their room. 

"Oh yee of little faith!" Remus whined dramatically in response. "Why does my brother hate me so?" 

"Cause you're a bitch!" came the annoyed response, before their apartment door was closed. 

Roman sighed, glancing over at the neighboring apartment next to his and Remus'. He remembered meeting Janus up at the audition and the two joking about sticking together, since it's always good to have a friend in the theatre world. And truth be told, Roman wasn't planning on meeting anyone, he just wanted an excuse to get out of that apartment. But perhaps... he could meet with a friend. He needed theatre advice, so who better to ask, right? The idea of approaching Janus jumbled in his head for quite a while, before he eventually walked up to the door. 

"Hello?" Janus asked, opening the door. When he saw Roman, his posture softened a little. 

"Hey, this is kinda a long shot but... do you wanna hang out? My brother's being an ass and I need advice on something," Roman asked, expecting Janus to be busy or to not want to. To his surprise, however, Janus nodded. 

"I'm not sure I'm the most qualified at giving advice... but I wouldn't mind actually getting out of here," he replied, attaining his jacket from a coat rack by the door. "Where are we going?" 

• • •

"No, no. Although the director is gross as hell... you have to do what he says! He's well respected, and it's a big opportunity for you." Roman sighed, glaring into his drink with distaste. 

"I know! But... I don't know, doesn't it feel like I'm not actually earning it? I don't think I'd be able to live with never knowing if my talent got me into the role or if..." Roman trailed off, taking a big sip of his drink. 

"Eh, integrity is overrated. You want the role right? No one get's anywhere by playing nice," Janus replied, taking a much smaller sip from his own drink. He found Roman's state quite amusing, honestly. Roman could be high strung, sure, but he usually held himself together well. Yet right now he looked like he was one disaster away from a mental breakdown. "Perhaps you should slow it on the drinks? Sounds like you've got a difficult decision that should definitely be made sober." Roman sighed. 

"I know but... I mean, maybe it's not even integrity, maybe it's just a matter of, well, I want to know I'm good enough. What if I end up making it, and way down the line I get a Tony, and all I can think about is how I technically never even earned the part?" It was Janus' turn to sigh, taking in the second opinion. He hadn't really considered that, though he had assumed Roman knew he was talented, and wouldn't need affirmation from anyone else. 

"Well... if I must be honest I would do it in a heartbeat if it meant getting the role. But you'll have to figure this one out on your own, I've just offered you my opinion. Now, though I've had fun, I have an early shift tomorrow, so... good luck, with whatever you chose to do." Roman nodded in understanding, smiling slightly at his new friend. 

"Well thanks, for the advice Janus." And with that, Janus left, and Roman was alone at the bar, as if his night couldn't get any more pathetic. 

"Well, well, well," someone tutted, approaching Roman's table. He looked up to find Virgil smiling smugly in his direction. Great. Just perfect. His night could get worse. Roman groaned loudly, stuffing his face into his arms. 

"What do you want, Dr. Gloom," Roman muttered, taking another drawn out sip of his drink. 

"Nothing, nothing, just wondering how long it took for your date to realize he was getting cat-fished." 

"Oh, ha ha. It wasn't a date, it was a friend. And you just missed him." Roman quipped, holding up his a finger to the bartender, signaling he wanted another drink. Virgil hid his laugh behind his sleeve, taking the seat opposite to Roman. 

"Mhm, I'll pretend I believe you," Virgil remarked, leaning back against the chair. Roman rolled his eyes but gave the worker a grateful smile when he brought over the drink. 

"Seriously, what are you doing here? Aren't you and Remus like, busy or whatever?" Roman mumbled, slumping in his seat. 

"Remus had something to do, and I saw you here on my walk back home. Thought it'd be entertaining." 

"Oh, you're welcome for providing quality content," Roman grumbled. "Look, can you like, chill with the annoyingness? I don't even know what I did to deserve it, we just met today." 

"Nah, you're fun to annoy. Besides, I'm just dishing out what you're giving me!" Roman scoffed, holding his hands up defensively. 

"I've only been rude to you, because you've been rude to me." 

"Ditto," Virgil replied smugly, eyeing Roman's already half finished drink. "Woah, what's the drinking occasion?" Roman took another sip, glaring at Virgil momentarily, before smirking. 

"Wouldn't you like to know?"


	8. Chapter Seven~ Questionable Decisions

Janus was admittedly not the most selfless person. It wasn't that he didn't care about people- though he couldn't stand most of them. It was about trust. How could Janus spend his energy helping someone, if they turned out to be an asshole? How could he trust that someone's tragic life story and need for help, wasn't fake? The people he cared for and helped, were people he knew wouldn't try to take from him. 

He grew up as the oldest sibling of five. His parents were both working, and they didn't always have a lot of money, so of course, Janus was protective of himself and his family. It was all about self preservation. Protect and care for yourself before others, and beyond that, put more energy into the people who benefit your life. 

Janus was also ambitious. He had a dream to be on a big stage in New York, and he wanted to get it. Sure, sometimes he knew he would have to play a little dirty, but how couldn't he? In such a competitive business, with a lot of other go-getters, it was part of the game. When he saw opportunities, he took them. So when he got a drunken text from Roman, telling him he had turned down what seemed to be an obviously decision, it was hardly condemnable for what Janus did next. 

With a deep breath, he knocked on the door. When the director from the callback opened the door, it was too late to change Janus' mind. 

• • •  


Roman woke up with a bitch of a headache. It was just his luck with a shitty day like yesterday's, that he gets far too drunk to even be able to think the next morning. The light just hardly shining through the windows felt blinding, the dull noise of the city bustling outside sounded deafening, and his head pounded with each passing second. It took him quite a few minutes to be able to stir together a conscious thought, but when he could, only one thing had popped up into his head. 

'This isn't my bed.' 

Roman's eyes flew open, though immediately closed again when the light from the window touched them. He groaned softly as his head throbbed at the sudden light, and quickly moved his heavy arm to cover his eyes. If this wasn't his bed... who's was it? 

This morning was already horrible, and it had just started. Roman just wanted to shove the blankets over his head and sleep all day. However, he didn't even know who these said blankets belonged to, which definitely complicated his plans to hide in them. To make matters worse, once the ringing in Roman's ears had settled down, he heard someone shift next to him. 

Fuck. 

The hungover mess slowly rolled over towards the other person he could hear softly breathing. It took his delirious mind a moment to even identify the blobs of shapes that made up a person sleeping next to him, let alone for him to identify who it was. The only thing he could tell at the moment, was that whoever it was, was wearing a minimal amount of clothes. 

Oh god, did he sleep with that director anyways? He had planned not to, he even remembered definitively texting Janus that. Or did he text Janus he would? The whole night was a blur and he honestly wasn't sure. 

Roman quickly pulled his thoughts back to this moment, he needed to figure out where the hell he was. Luckily for him, the person by his side rolled over to face him slightly, and he finally had a clear view. 

Virgil. 

Fuck no, not Virgil. Anyone but Virgil. 

• • •

Logan sighed, jotting down a few notes onto a piece of paper. His work day had been incredibly slow, and his father had been hounding him to get more work done than he could. The best thing for Logan to do at this point was unwind, and relax and- 

"Logan?" Summer, his fellow coworker questioned, knocking gently on the door. Logan peered up from his pages, mustering as much of an acknowledging nod as he could. Summer laughed and quickly stepped inside, immediately going to their favorite chair in Logan's office. "Hey so, I wanted to pick your brain about something..." Logan nodded, leaning back in his chair. 

"I do not understand that expression. How does one 'pick a brain'? Regardless, you have 10 minutes before my next meeting.” Summer laughed, leaning more comfortably against the chair. 

"Well... you know how I've always been such a good employee and friend?" Summer started, batting their eyes innocently. Logan sighed, though his expression wasn't at all annoyed. If anything he was... relieved, to talk to someone who wasn't his mom, in a low stress environment. 

"What do you want?" Logan questioned, smirking a little at Summer's charm tactics. 

"Well, I know how you're always wanting to get out of office duty and prove yourself to your dad... and my girlfriend wants some new standard equipment for her work place. I figured cause you're all like," Summer quickly shifter their demeanor to a very caricatured impersonation of Logan. "serious, neck-tie, blah, blah, blah, you might be interested in helping me get her set up? She works for an apartment complex, so it'd be decent money." Logan smiled slightly, pulling out a notebook. 

"Alright, I'll need details." 

• • •

"Here we are. The second most magical place on Earth," Virgil grumbled sarcastically as he grabbed onto Patton's arm. "I seriously should warn you about Remus again, Patt. He's a lot-" 

"Virgil. We talked about this! A friend of yours is a friend of mine. Besides, he seemed nice when I met him." 

"Yeah sure he can be... polite, but he can also be vulgar and crazy and-" 

"Annoying? Yeah Virge, you might have already mentioned that. It's okay! It's just one afternoon." Patton grabbed the handle of the entrance door, as he heard Virgil take a deep breath. He smiled and let go of the handle, turning to face his friend. "Hey... I wont judge you for who your friends are! And if it really matters to you that we get along, then I will make it happen," Patton said warmly, turning back towards the door. Virgil stifled a smile at that, following Patton inside. 

"No bitch, get off of me," Roman complained, As Remus tugged his brother into the entrance room. "You can't just abduct me, I have things I need to do." Remus rolled his eyes, tugging on his twin's arm again. 

"Yeah. Stupid things. I'm making you socialize and actually have fun, instead of being busy and tired all the time. You might as well be thanking me," Remus replied, noticing Virgil and Patton and perking up. 

"Thank you," Roman muttered sarcastically, eyes finally landing on the two. He quickly avoided Virgil's gaze and instead landed his eyes on Patton. "Wait... you look really familiar." 

Remus and Patton burst out laughing, as Virgil and Patton approached the twins. 

"Well I certainly left an impression in your white shirt," Patton giggled, reaching out a hand. "Sorry about that, by the way." 

"Oh my god! You're the coffee guy!" 

"The one and only! My name's Patton," he replied, smiling as Roman took his hand. 

"I'm Roman," the twin paused, briefly glancing at Virgil. "So... you're Virgil's friend?" 

"And boss! Are you going to be spending time with us?" 

"Ew," Virgil complained, turning towards Remus. "You didn't tell me we'd be hanging out with prince under-arm stink." 

"Wow, nice one," Roman replied, crossing his arms. "You were right Remus, maybe I should stick around." Remus looked between the two for a moment before sighing. 

"Shut up you two, or I'll shave off all your hair in your sleep."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I just wanted to quickly say thanks for the support thus far! It really means a lot :) my pace for posting will probably finally start to chill a little haha... I just really wanted to get to this point in the story because this chapter is kinda a game changer. Anyways, thanks!


	9. Chapter Eight~ Tired

Remus and Virgil dragged their friends to a small café, just to get out of the apartment complex. And though Virgil was quite nervous at first, everyone got along really well! Including Patton and Roman, who went on and on about cartoons and Disney together, much to the other's confusion and dismay. Virgil and Roman still bickered as much as ever. Virgil couldn't help it, Roman pushed his buttons. No one needs to be that loud and arrogant every second of the day. He was like Remus in the most annoying ways, but also very stuck-up. 

Roman certainly didn't like Virgil either. For one thing, he was way too much of a downer. And besides that, Roman didn't trust him. Remus tended to gravitate towards the worst kinds of people, and get himself hurt a lot. Deep down, Roman was convinced Virgil would be the same. 

No matter how much they hated each other, there was one slight issue. Neither of them had a full understanding of what had happened last night. Roman was far too prideful to talk about it, and Virgil was far too anxious to bring it up either. So… they just completely ignored it, which proved to be easy with Patton and Remus distracting them. 

The group eventually made their way back to the apartment building, laughing and joking as if they had always been old friends. When they arrived into the building, they noticed the usually apathetic desk lady smiling and talking to two people. 

"Oh! Here are some tenants." She approached the twins, giving them a pleading look in her eyes. "They could definitely attest to the condition of our business." The two people she had been talking to also followed, watching the confused faces on all of the group. 

"Oh hey! You're red velvet cupcake guy!" Patton perked up, pointing towards one of the strangers. He was tall and well put together, tie around his neck, hair pushed back, square frames resting on his nose. He seemed confused momentarily, but quickly nodded in understanding, and reached a hand out. 

"Yes, although formally, my name is Logan Berry. It's a pleasure to meet all of you. We are investing in some technology advancements for this building." Patton smiled and shook his hand. The desk lady interrupted the interaction pulling Roman towards the strangers. 

"You are? Officially investing, I mean." She spoke, with such enthusiasm the twins had never seen from her. The other stranger next to Logan perked up, looking towards him. 

"Can we? Can we please?" 

"Fine, Summer. I'll need a statement from one of the tenants. I want to make sure this is a worthy investment." 

"Fine, fine, I'll do it," Roman volunteered, reaching a hand out to Logan. "I'm Roman. My twin brother and I live here." Logan nodded with a polite smile. Remus dragged Patton and Virgil away from the scene, desperately bored. His brother was an actor, he could charm and sweet talk that Logan dude into investing, they didn't need to stick around to help. 

• • •

Patton sighed, closing the door behind him. He loved getting to spend time with new people, but he was also very tired, having been out all day. Work had been exhausting him recently… or at least he thought it was his work. He wasn't quite sure anymore, since he had so many things to be happy about. He had a boyfriend, he had his own café, he had great friends, everything was great! But still every day he came home so tired. 

His mind wandered back to the strange company he found himself in today. Roman and Remus seemed fun! Lots of energy, and he and Roman will get along quite well, that's for sure. Remus was… interesting. Lot's of wild jokes, but he could tell Remus cared about Virgil, which was all that mattered to Patton. He wandered into the kitchen with a sign of relief, finally glad to be home. He grabbed a glass from the cabinet and got himself some water. 

"Where have you been?" A voice spoke, causing Patton to jump. He turned around to find his boyfriend, standing in the kitchen doorway. 

"Oh! Gosh, you scared me." Patton laughed, sitting down at the kitchen table. "I was just spending time with some friends today after work. Did you have a good day?" His boyfriend walked into the kitchen, sitting across from Patton. 

"Sorry for scaring you…" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "No, work was shitty as usual. I thought maybe you'd be here when you got off of work, since you've been so tired lately?" Patton chuckled, reaching for his partner's hand. 

"No, no. People recharge me! Virgil wanted me to meet some of his friends." His boyfriend stiffened, but forced a smile. 

"Virgil, huh?" 

Patton exhaled shakily, quickly standing. He put his glass of water down by the sink, avoiding eye contact. He didn't want to have this conversation again. 

"Yeah, you know… my friend from work?" 

"Yes, I'm glad if you had fun… I'm simply worried about you, that's all." 

"Worried about me? Adam, I told you, I'm fine." His boyfriend walked behind him, wrapping his arms gently around Patton's shoulder's. 

"You wouldn't be so tired all of the time if you were fine." Patton sighed, melting into the embrace from his partner, though he knew he probably shouldn't. "Virgil is… a lot. He needs a lot, he needs constant reassurance. Sometimes I worry he's trying to drain all of your happiness, just to make himself feel better. Every time you come home you're tired after spending time with him, don't you think?" 

"I don’t know… he doesn't make me feel tired," Patton mumbled. "He's always been a good friend." 

"That's because you're too trusting," Adam said, his tone much less soft now. "I just don't want you getting hurt. You do know, I always have your happiness in mind. We wouldn't want Virgil to be like your last boyfriend. The one who broke you, and I had to pick up all of the pieces?" Patton sighed, looking down to the floor. Anytime he was close to someone, Adam brought this up. He had been trying to move on from that past relationship, but it seemed like Adam had relentless trust issues for him. But Virgil didn't make him feel bad… it was quite the opposite! They were great friends. 

Part of him knew this was Adam's jealousy talking. Did he truly think Virgil was bad, or did he just want Patton to spend more time with him? Should Patton sacrifice more time for his partner? Clearly, Adam was hurting, maybe Patton needed to accommodate this? 

He felt his boyfriend pull away from the hug, and turn to leave the kitchen. "And maybe as a 'thank you' for helping you so much, you can come home earlier? I hate being alone without you." He fake whined, flashing Patton his signature warm smile. Patton forced a smile in return, looking towards Adam. 

"Yeah… I will. Sorry."


	10. Chapter Nine~ Good News

Janus glared at the clock as it continued to tick, eyes fixated on the number 12. At noon, he would be getting the call if he landed the part of Fierro or not. He was more nervous than he'd ever let show- there were quite a few different options for Fierro, one being Roman. 

Thinking of Roman then brought the slight guilt, that again, Janus would never let show. Truly, he felt bad for taking Roman's opportunity, but then again, Roman was stupid enough to turn it down. Meeting with the director improved Janus' status in his eyes, and it gave him the opportunity to talk himself up. If Roman was too prideful to accept such an offer, Janus didn't have to feel bad. He just hoped it was worth it, and that Roman would never know. 

His phone rang, and it seemed as if his heart had stopped. His quickly answered the call, waiting with baited breath as the phones connected. 

"Hi, is this Janus Sanders?" 

"Yes," Janus replied, hiding his nerves with a calm tone. 

"This is Alyssa, one of the stage hands for Wicked. I believe we met at the callback? Anyways, here's the official call: you got the part of Fierro! Roman Jimenez will be your understudy, and rehearsals will begin tomorrow at 10 AM in the same studio. Staged rehearsals will begin later in the production." 

"Yes, thank you so much," Janus sighed, practically melting in relief at the news. This wasn't quite a big Broadway stage yet, but it was the type of show that Broadway directors and agents would come to watch. Finally, he was getting closer to his goals. All of the years he had dreamed to be on a big stage, all of the years he had dreamed to play in any show, even the specific dream to be in Wicked, they were coming true. He hung up the phone, and felt as if his heart was soaring inside of his chest. He knew exactly who he had to call. 

"Hello?" 

"Mom, I got the part!" Janus exclaimed, immediately going to his kitchen to open a wine bottle to celebrate. 

"Oh my gosh! Janus, we're so proud! When are the performance dates? If we know well enough in advance we can plan them out-" 

"Oh... don't worry about it. Plane tickets are really expensive, and you've got the other's to think about." Janus said, pouring himself a glass. "I just wanted to tell you-" 

"Jan, you know we would love to see you if we can. Send us the dates anyways? We can figure something out." Janus hesitated, smiling at his mom's relentlessness. 

"Fine, I'll ask around," suddenly there was a knock on his apartment door. "Oh, I have to go, mom." 

"Okay sweetie, have fun. I'm so proud of you! I can't wait to tell your father as soon as he gets home!" Janus laughed yet again, face flushing slightly in embarrassment. His mom was very bubbly and supportive, sometimes almost too much. But it was sweet, and Janus appreciated it. 

"Thanks, talk to you later. Bye," Janus replied, walking towards the door. Once his mother said her goodbyes and hung up the phone, he opened the door, where Roman had been waiting on the other side. 

The excitement he had felt started to sink into his stomach. Would Roman be angry? Janus had quickly noted that Roman had a bit of a temper. Did he find out about the director? Did he hate Janus? All he could do was give an expectant look towards his neighbor, letting him start the conversation. 

"Did you get the call?" Roman asked, expression something Janus couldn't quite place. Janus nodded, trying really hard not to smile at his own excitement. Roman nodded, cracking a bit of a smile himself. "Well, I just wanted to say congrats." 

"You're not... upset?" 

"Oh no, I'm devastated." Roman stated with a laugh, but then quickly held his hands up defensively. "But not by you! You did well at the callbacks. I was just hoping to get it, obviously... I mean I kinda knew after I blew off the director." Janus nodded solemnly, but then he pushed open his door a little bit to reveal his newly opened wine bottle. 

"Well I do believe you still have reason to celebrate; an understudy for a lead is basically the same thing as the lead." Roman hesitated for a long moment, but eventually he nodded with a slight smile. 

"Fine, it would be a shame to make you celebrate alone." 

• • •

"I submitted the papers to my father, we should get approval for our project soon. And thank you, Summer, for giving me this opportunity. I really needed a distraction." 

"Distraction from what?" Summer questioned, taking a sip from their coffee. Logan sighed, running a hand through his hair. He wasn't great at opening up and talking to people, especially people he didn't know. And as great of a work friend Summer was, they were simply just that, a friend from work. 

"Nothing, just... boring desk work no one else wants to do, constantly trying to impress my father so I can work actually decent jobs, that whole predicament," Logan lied, pushing all of his other worries to the side. His friend across from him cracked a smile. 

"Sounds like you need more friends to give you distractions. I mean I love ya, but are these coffee 'dates' your only form of social interaction? If so, that seriously needs to change." 

"Friends, get in the way of my work. I do believe an occasional cup of coffee with a coworker suffices." 

"No way dude! Come on, you've lived here for how many years and yet you don't have friends to hang out with? Let me bring you to a thing tonight that my girlfriend set up." Logan scoffed, looking away in distaste and embarrassment. 

"No, no. I do not want to intrude or, 'third wheel' as one might say." 

"Nope, too late, I'm taking you with. My girlfriend already mentioned she wanted to thank you, so it'll be perfect!" 

With a sigh, Logan famed a smile for his coworker. He was not looking forward to forced social interaction with a bunch of strangers, but at least it would be a distraction from the rest of his life. 

• • •

"Wait, wait, wait. Your brother did what?" Janus exclaimed, causing Roman to burst out laughing. The two were sitting on Janus' couch, slowly sipping from their wine glasses. 

"Yeah! God, and then his friend had to bail the bitch out of jail-" 

"Your brother sounds like an absolute train-wreck. You'll have to introduce us," Janus chuckled, sipping from his wine. 

"Hey actually, Re and I are having a little get together with some people, if you'd want to come? It started-" Roman cut himself off, checking the clock on his phone. "15 minutes ago." Janus couldn't help but chuckle, setting his glass down. 

"Fine, I'm still in celebration mode. Were you just going to bail?" 

"Yeah... I wasn't entirely up for it after... y'know, missing out on the role. But I dunno, I'm feeling better now." 

"Of course you are, I have that effect on people," Janus replied smoothly, grabbing his coat. "Now let's be fashionably late to your own social gathering."


	11. Chapter Ten~ Almost All Together

This whole 'party' had been thrown together by Sara, or the person formally referred to as "desk lady". She's not always the warmest... but Roman had saved her ass and got the stamp of approval for the new tech, so she thought she'd make an effort. The twins reluctantly agreed to let her make it up to them, by covering all the drinks and snacks. They invited Virgil and Patton, and now Janus, and Sara invited Summer, who invited Logan. When Roman and Janus arrived from next door, Remus and Virgil were already there, lounging on the couch, and Sara was in the kitchen breaking into the snacks. 

"Hey Remus! Uhg. Hey Virgil," Roman commented, pulling Janus into the room. "This is Janus! He's the neighbor from the callback I told you about." 

"Well you didn't tell me that he was hot," Remus commented, scrambling over the edge of the couch to extend a hand. "Remus Jimenez, Roman's way better looking and less annoying twin." 

Janus, ignoring the offended Roman noises happening behind him, chuckled, and shook the hand. 

"The 'less' annoying twin... yet the arsonist twin?" Janus questioned, recalling the stories he had heard earlier. 

"Roman you bitch! I told you to stop bringing that up!" 

"Sorry not sorry." 

• • •

Summer and Logan arrived only minutes after Roman and Janus had. No one was expecting Logan to be there, but he was a somewhat familiar face, so they didn't mind. Summer was quick to apologize for being late, dragging Logan in behind them. 

"Oh, you guys remember Lo, right? I thought I'd bring him cause he didn't have any plans." 

"Oh my god, more hot guys," Remus grinned, which earned an eyeroll from at least half of the other people in the room. Summer quickly made their way to Sara, greeting her with a big smile. Roman dragged Logan over to the couch where everyone else was, keeping him a decent distance from his twin. Eventually the group all had drinks in their hands, chip bags opened, and seats on the couch. Conversation started flowing naturally, and the group found that they blended much more easily than one might've thought. Even Logan, who typically wasn't the most social, found himself enjoying the strange conversations about forensics that Remus brought up. Sara was still sassy and guarded, but the twins were pretty sure they saw her crack a smile here and there, which was far more than they had ever expected. She and Virgil quicly took a liking to each other and talked about music for at least half an hour. Summer and Roman got on talking about musical theatre, which Janus would occasionally comment on, usually to throw shade at the main characters for being unrealistic and overrated. It had been about an hour since everyone had showed up, but there was one person who had yet to come, someone who had promised to be early to help set up. 

"Hey V, didn't you invite Patton?" Remus spoke up eventually, noticing the weird void in the room. Somehow even though he had just met Patton, the bubbly little dad figure had made a big impact on the dynamic. His presence of stupid dad jokes and lighthearted rambles about cartoons and baking was strangely missed by everyone who was expecting him there. And considering Patton had insisted on bringing some kind of homemade treat and being early to make sure everything was set up, Remus figured he'd have shown up by now. 

"Yeah, he even said he'd bake brownies or something... I guess I just assumed he was running late? I'll text him." 

• • •

Patton sighed as he closed the bathroom cabinet. He was always one to misplace things, but usually not something so important. His bedroom had become a mess of clothes and trinkets, as he had pulled everything out from their place, desperately looking for this important orange container. 

"Hey Adam?" Patton questioned, leaning his head out of their bedroom. His boyfriend was seated on the living room couch, staring down at his computer screen. 

"Yes?" He responded, peeling his eyes from the screen to focus on his partner. 

"Do you... know where I put my medication? I was running low on time this morning for work and assumed I'd find them later, but they're still missing." His boyfriend hummed, eyes slowly scanning the room as Patton walked towards him. 

"I don't know, I haven't seen them lying around anywhere. Have you been taking them every day?" With a sigh, Patton sat down next to Adam, leaning against his shoulder. Yet again, he was so tired and unmotivated, which he assumed was a result of not taking his meds. 

"I don't know... I guess sometimes I forget, especially with the early morning shifts..." he mumbled, letting his boyfriend gently run a hand through his hair. 

"Maybe that means you don't need them? If you can't seem to remember them, and you've been doing fine without them." 

"I don't think that's how it works, Adam. My therapist and doctor said I needed them after everything-" 

"Everything that happened a long time ago. You've been doing better haven't you?" Adam prompted, nudging Patton a little. With a weak smile he nodded, leaning more comfortably against Adam. 

"Maybe I am doing a little better but-" 

"So let this happen! Maybe it's a blessing in disguise, you'll never know unless you just settle into the decision. If it really bothers you, I'll turn the whole place upside down tomorrow to find them for you." Patton giggled, and wrapped Adam into a tight hug. 

"Thank you," he mumbled against his boyfriend's shoulder. 

"Of course. Do you feel fine right now?" 

"A little tired, I guess. I really just don't wanna get up, but I have that party to go to." 

"Why don't you stay here? If you're tired... we can have a date night in. I'll put on a movie, we can relax?" Adam continued to gently run a hand through Patton's hair, which only made him feel more secure and sleepy, right where he was. With each passing second, a social gathering felt less and less enticing. Maybe Adam was right, maybe he should just stay home. 

"Okay... you're right," Patton mumbled contentedly, as fatigue overtook his body, and his eyes slowly closed.


End file.
